3rd time’s the charm? Hontiveros confident of winning Senate seat

PhilHealth Director and former Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday said she is confident that she will win a senatorial seat in the 2016 elections.

“I am confident that this time, we will win,” Hontiveros told the media after filing her certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.

This is the third time that Hontiveros is seeking a Senate post after losing in the 2010 and 2013 elections under the ticket of President Benigno Aquino III. She placed 13th in 2010, almost making it to the top 12, and 17th in the 2013 midterm elections.

READ: Risa Hontiveros banks on people’s ‘revenge’ | Hontiveros unfazed by ‘uphill battle’ for Senate seat

Hontiveros said results of recent preference polls give her hope, noting that she is within “striking distance” of the “Magic 12.”

Hontiveros is running under the Liberal Party-led Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid.

Hontiveros, a known advocate of the Reproductive Health law, said she will champion universal health care access to Filipinos and continue the administration’s fight against corruption if ever elected.

“Ang Senado ay hindi lamang para sa may mabibigat na apelyido. Ito ay may espasyo rin sa ordinaryong mamayan na may ekstraordinaryong pangarap,” she added.

(The Senate is not just for those who have prominent names. It also has room for ordinary citizens with an extraordinary dream.) IDL

After losing in the 2010 and 2013 senatorial elections, Risa Hontiveros is confident she will win a seat this time. YUJI VINCENT GONZALES/INQUIRER.net